chaperone

American  

[shap-uh-rohn] / ˈʃæp əˌroʊn /

Or chaperon

noun

1. a person, usually a married or older woman, who, for propriety, accompanies a young unmarried woman in public or who attends a party of young unmarried men and women.

   Synonyms:

   escort

2. any adult present in order to maintain order or propriety at an activity of young people, as at a school dance.

3. a round headdress of stuffed cloth with wide cloth streamers that fall from the crown or are draped around it, worn in the 15th century.

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verb (used with object)

1. to attend or accompany as chaperone.

   Synonyms:

   escort

verb (used without object)

1. to act as chaperone.

Other Word Forms

• chaperonage noun
• chaperonless adjective

Etymology

Origin of chaperone

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French: “hood, cowl,” equivalent to chape cape ¹ + -eron noun suffix; figurative sense from French (18th century)

Example Sentences

So her aunt and uncle tried to salvage the matchmaking with a chaperoned Chinese dinner.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last year, the corporation introduced new duty of care measures, including putting chaperones in rehearsals.

From BBC

She said yes, and there we were on another chaperoned date.

From Los Angeles Times

She said that families needed to be reassured about how any changes would affect their children, and also how it would affect chaperones needed to accompany some children.

From BBC

His wife at the time, Monika Bawa, then a registered physiotherapist, acted as his chaperone from this point in his private clinic, which was agreed by the Interim Orders Investigating Committee.

From BBC

Related Words

• matron